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    All I Want For Christmas Leader Guide: Opening the Gifts of God's Grace
    All I Want For Christmas Leader Guide: Opening the Gifts of God's Grace
    All I Want For Christmas Leader Guide: Opening the Gifts of God's Grace
    Ebook66 pages44 minutes

    All I Want For Christmas Leader Guide: Opening the Gifts of God's Grace

    By James W. Moore and John P. Gilbert

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    About this ebook

    From the time the Wise Men came to bring gifts, Christmas has been a time of giving gifts to our loved ones, to the less fortunate, to the church, to favorite charities, to family, to friends, and even to our pets. In the best spirit of Christmas we give and receive Christmas gifts, remembering the greatest Christmas gift of all…God's gift of the Christ Child, God's gift to us of a Savior.

    As we give and receive Christmas gifts, it is incredibly important to remember that the best Christmas gifts are wrapped in heaven. Unfortunately, sometimes we concentrate so much on the gifts we want to give to and receive from each other that we miss the special gifts Christmas has for us. Christmas has some amazing gifts for us, but the truth is that we need the miracle of God's grace to see them, feel them, hear them, wrap our arms around them, and celebrate them. This study asks a very personal question: "What are the gifts you would really like to receive from Christmas this year?" And that is what this book is all about: our thoughts and ruminations about the amazing, life-changing gifts Christmas has for us!

    This Advent study has five sessions--one for each Sunday of Advent and one for Christmas. The Leader Guide is designed to be used alongside the DVD. It enables a small group leader to facilitate a weekly discussion about All I Want for Christmas using the five DVD sessions as its starting point. Questions and activities guide group participants to discuss and understand each chapter in greater depth. The DVD and Leader Guide are not a substitute for the book, but a guide for discussing the book in small groups.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbingdon Press
    Release dateSep 20, 2016
    ISBN9781501824234
    All I Want For Christmas Leader Guide: Opening the Gifts of God's Grace
    Author

    James W. Moore

    James W. Moore (1938–2019) was an acclaimed pastor and ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. He led congregations in Jackson, TN; Shreveport, LA; and Houston, TX. The best-selling author of over 40 books, including Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, But I Have Several Excellent Excuses, he also served as minister-in-residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

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      Book preview

      All I Want For Christmas Leader Guide - James W. Moore

      All I Want for Christmas

      Opening the Gifts of God’s Grace

      LEADER GUIDE

      ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

      Leader Guide

      Copyright © 2016 by Abingdon Press

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions Office, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., P.O. Box 280988, Nashville, TN 37228-0988, faxed to 615-749-6128, or e-mailed to permissions@umpublishing.org.

      Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

      ISBN: 9781501824227

      16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

      Contents

      How to Lead This Study

      1. The Gift of Good News (Matthew 1:18-25)

      2. The Gift of a New Understanding (Luke 1:39-56)

      3. The Gift of a Strong Foundation (Joshua 24:14-15)

      4. The Gift of a New Style of Living (Matthew 23:23-26)

      5. Christmas Gifts We Can Pass on to Others (Matthew 2:1-12)

      Bonus: Organize a Churchwide Advent Study

      How to Lead This Study

      Welcome!

      You’re going to lead an exciting Advent study. This Leader Guide contains important suggestions to help you lead, and this first section provides some general tips before you begin.

      But first, a word about Advent.

      Advent is not Christmas! Advent is a special holy time. It is a time of anticipation, of preparation, of watchfulness, and of waiting. It is a time of looking forward to what God is going to do, of recalling what God has done, and of discovering what God is doing right now in our very midst. Yes, we know that Christmas is coming on the calendar, but the mystery and wonder of God’s presence in our lives makes us eager to learn what God has in store for us this year, this season, this very day.

      Here are some Nuts and Bolts to help you start your study off right:

      Promotion

      That’s not a bad word in church! Let folks know your congregation is planning this study. The church newsletter, the worship bulletin, posters on the bulletin boards, social media, and word of mouth are all ways to promote this study. A hint: Promote early enough so that you can have a stand-up meeting of participants so that all can agree on the best day and time to meet.

      Group Size

      Think in terms of six-sixteen. Fewer than six participants often have a hard time making for a good, lively discussion every week. And if one or two people miss a meeting, your group will be really small. At the other end, sixteen group members are about the maximum for good discussion. Over sixteen interested in this study? Form two or three or more groups! (And don’t feel you must lead them all.) Fewer than six folks interested? Consider checking with some neighboring churches; perhaps two or three churches could join together to have a study group—or several groups!

      Session Duration

      Aim for ninety-minute sessions. Start and end right on time. Even if everyone is not present, start on time—and keep faith with participants by ending on the agreed-upon time. But if folks want to linger after the session, that is fine.

      Room Arrangement

      Can you set up a square

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